The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently issued a precedential decision upholding the Trademark Office’s refusal to register five applications for the mark .MUSIC in connection with a variety of goods and services, holding that .MUSIC is merely descriptive of the goods and services. A PDF copy of the decision is here. A company called theDot Communications… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Music
Taylor Swift’s Signature Trademark?
Posted in Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksWhat are the odds that the signature on the cover of Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut album from 2006 depicts her actual and personal signature (she would have been 17 at the time)? Or, could it be that the highly marketed and consistent trademark signature is more about the branding and packaging of the artist and not actually her own… Continue Reading
The Devil Wears Calvin Klein
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, TrademarksA while back I blogged about a show I do not watch, but which had clearly become part of the popular consciousness. Once again, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another popular culture phenomenon who warrants a mention on this blog just as much as that show on MTV. I’m talking about Lady Gaga,… Continue Reading
Branding in Pop Culture: How Brands Avoid Negative Associations
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Social Networking, Trademarks—by David Mitchel, Vice President of Marketing at Norton Mitchel Marketing Branding is an intricate and complicated process. Every aspect of the marketing mix must be handled with care. Brand managers watch their brands in the same manner that most parents care for a newborn child. However, there is an element of marketing communications that… Continue Reading
I Want My MTV, Hold the Music
Posted in TrademarksA few months ago, my colleague Karen Brennan blogged about the Sci-Fi Channel’s name change to SyFy and removal of its Saturn logo. As Karen explained, part of the reason Sci-Fi/SyFy company heads wanted to change the name was to update the brand to appeal to a wider audience. Now MTV is “changing” its logo as… Continue Reading
A Plural New Year’s Resolution For ESPN
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, TelevisionApparently I’m rapidly fading from ESPN’s target demographic. This became painfully clear to me over the holiday season, with ESPN’s Bowl Week promotion, featuring Atlantic’s hip-hop artist B.O.B. performing "I Am The Champion": It’s not that ESPN is promoting an up and coming rapper, I understand that marketing decision. It’s the title and lyrics of the selection –… Continue Reading
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Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Dan Kelly
You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation. More...
Sharon Armstrong
Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Catlan McCurdy
Having long been told by my parents that I could do or be anything I wanted, I chose at the age of 10 to become an attorney, as it was the career that would most likely lead me to my goal of becoming the first woman POTUS.More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Susan Perera
Born into the world with an aptitude for science and an affinity for art I found my career path quickly chosen for me. More...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. More...
Laura Gutierrez
An attorney I am not. Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). More...